Alumnae Theatre Company presents a new production of James Reaney‘s The Killdeer as this season’s Retrospective Choice. The play is part of their Countdown to 100, as they head toward the century mark.

In a few words, The Killdeer is a sharp social satire that mixes the macabre with comedy to tell the tale of an Ontario town’s tangled web of murder and mystery. Given this  interesting description of the show, I wanted to find out more. I was able to ask the play’s director Barbara Larosse a few questions about the current production. Here is what she had to say…

HM: Given the dark nature of the story in James Reaney’s The Killdeer, how did you first envision this production?

Barbara Larosse: When I first read this play, it inspired me with its richness – and I immediately wanted the opportunity to bring James Reaney’s original words once again to the stage. For me, although there is darkness in The Killdeer, there is also lightness in equal measure – the play is as much a comedy as a drama, told against the backdrop of a murder mystery in small town Ontario. It’s filled with poetic imagery, as you might expect from a poet of James Reaney’s stature, but also has strong elements of a fairy tale. The central characters in the play are searching for the same things we all search for – a sense of belonging and to maintain or recover our innocence. So I wanted the design of the piece to reflect the internal struggles of the characters as they battle their past traumas, their own insecurities and societal and parental pressures to grow up and find their place in the world.

I was struck by a quote of James Reaney’s that I discovered duriing my research. He said “We are all children of an older growth”. That resonated with me. To me, that meant that we are all at different points on the same life journey and each of us is as vulnerable and as hopeful as a child at our core.

HM: This play first premiered in 1960 — also an Alumnae Theatre production — in what ways is this production similar and/or different to that mounted 53 years ago?

BL: One difference in our current production from the original is that we have attempted to bring in the elements of magic throughout the play from the beginning – to take a slightly more abstract look at the piece – so while the internal workings of the moments and the scenes are portrayed with truth and realism, the overall structure emphasizes mystery and imagination the way a fairy tale would. But we’ve definitely given quite a bit of thought to honouring the excellent original production of 53 years ago. Here are a couple – out of many – similarities. If you look over the lobby bar at the Alumnae Theatre, you can see a photograph of the original production including the “paper men” dance – and you will find that dance in our current production as well. And our Sound Designer, Rick Jones, has created a score incorporating elements inspired by John Beckwith’s original music from the 1960 premiere.

HM: Working together with your creative team, how did you approach the “realism, fairy tale and magic” elements that are pivotal in this play?

BL: I worked with the design team and cast to create a place where the elements of play and fantasy could blend seemlessly with the real journeys of the characters. The set itself represents the struggle going on within the characters, the lighting mixes colour, light and shadow and the sound mirrors the poetry and magic. The opening moments of the production tell us to expect “play” and transformation in the piece and remind us to leave our day to day world behind and to go along for the ride.

Sounds like we’ll certainly be taken into an interesting journey in The Killdeer. And it should certainly leave us with plenty to discuss afterwards.